GOD'S ANTIDOTE FOR ANXIETY

This is the day that the LORD

has made; let us rejoice and be

glad in it. (Psalm 118:24, ESV)

Instead of continuing to fret over circumstances I have no control over, prayers that remain unanswered even though I don't understand the reason why, and the worrisome "what ifs" that were filling my mind, I finally decided to follow Jesus' exhortation to stay focused on the present. 

Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Today has enough trouble of its own. (Matthew 6:34, BSB)

Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life? So if you cannot do such a small thing, why do you worry about the rest? (Luke 17:25-26, BSB)

Our brains can only focus on one thing at a time, and I have intentionally been training mine to stay focused on the present moment and what is within my power to do right now, and trust in God's plan and His timing for the rest instead of second-guessing His intentions and trying to help Him when things don't seem to be progressing the way I anticipated they should or would. 

The truth is (and this is not my original thought) that yesterday is gone and we are not promised tomorrow. Today is all we have. It is a gift from God, which is why it is called the present.

So many things we worry about never come to pass, and while we are busy worrying about them, we miss the blessings and opportunities right under our nose. I wonder if that's where the idiom "Take time to smell the roses," comes from.

AN ENCOURAGING EXHORTATION

Therefore strengthen your 

limp hands and weak knees. 

Make straight paths for 

your feet, so that the lame 

may not be disabled, but 

rather healed.

(Hebrews 12:12-13, BSB)  

Some days I feel weary, discouraged, and overwhelmed. But that's okay. So did Moses, Elijah, and King David, to name a few.

One of the things that discourages me the most is that I can no longer do some of the things I took for granted--like being able to just get in my car and drive myself to a scenic place or to visit friends who live more than an hour, tops, away, or go for walks with my camera. 

Some of it is my own fault because I keep neglecting my body. Exercise should be at the top of my list of priorities, but instead, it keeps getting put on the back burner, and I keep procrastinating and making excuses. As a result, my back is deteriorating fast. 

And there's also no good excuse for not getting out and walking, even though I can't do it as I did before, because I do have a rollator, which is just gathering dust in my car.

Anyway, all that to say, the above verse and devotion in my Streams In The Desert devotional this morning practically jumped off the page at me. I think--no, I'm sure--it was a very timely word for me.

The message (personalized) was that God really is ready to heal my physical issues if I would be consistent in my efforts to exert myself and get moving. No more one day on and four days off. It's time to stop making excuses and just DO IT!!! Even if I don't feel as though I can. I need to remind myself that I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me, and not be looking for an easy fix.

The devotion went on to exhort me to march "through the flood" and the waters will part as the Lord leads me through to victory. But it's up to me to start marching if I want my body to be healed and my faith strengthened.

Move straight ahead, it exhorted me. Pay as little attention to discouragement as possible, and "plow ahead like a steamship, which moves forward whether facing rough or smooth seas." Leave no place unconquered behind you where Satan can boast of having overwhelmed you.

Abba, Father, please work in me to give me the willingness, commitment, and strength to follow through on this commitment to regular, consistent exercise that I am making today, and may the results glorify your Name and be a testimony that encourages others in the same place I was, and gives them hope. In Jesus' Name. Amen!

A LESSON REINFORCED

Trust in the LORD with all your

heart; do not depend on your 

own understanding. Seek his 

will in all you do, and he will

show you which path to take.

(Proverbs 3:5-6, NLT)

To trust means to walk by faith, not by sight; to follow directions regardless of whether they seem to make sense or not, but how easy it is to be swayed by our own intellect or what our senses tell us. A truth I was reminded of (not for the first time) on my way into town the other day.

The Maps app was on, and long before I would have needed its help, the voice was telling me to get off at the next exit. I thought maybe I had entered the address I was going to wrong, but couldn't check it out while driving. What to do?

My intellect was screaming at me not to do it. Town lay straight ahead. I must have accidentally entered the wrong destination. 

Since I was not in any hurry, I decided to follow the instructions even though they did not make sense. I was sure Maps was wrong, but I was also curious to see what would happen and where I would end up if I did what the voice was telling me to do.

Turned out Maps was right, and I was wrong. As I approached the exit, traffic had become bumper to bumper and moving slower than a snail. (This picture was taken through the windshield.) 

After I exited and took the turn it told me to, the road was clear ahead, and even though it was a bit of a detour, it took me straight to where I needed to go in much less time than it would have taken me in the stop and go traffic I would have been stuck in.